Raj Lada was researching carrot processing techniques when a Christmas tree farmer walked into his office, clutching a photo that would change the course of his academic career – and possibly the future of the industry.
The photo showed a shipment of the farmer's balsam fir trees that had been rejected by a British Columbia retailer because they had lost almost all their needles, a common problem for tree growers.
"I saw in his face sort of a disturbance that it's not just about the money, but it's about the pride of being a producer that his credibility is lost," said Dr. Lada, chair of the department of plant, food and environmental sciences at Dalhousie University's Truro, N.S., campus.
Nine years later, in a discovery that supporters say could revolutionize the Atlantic region's Christmas tree export industry, Dr. Lada and his team have engineered balsam fir trees that retain their needles longer after harvest – up to 72 days.
A sapling protected in wire mesh is seen in a Christmas Tree Research Centre orchard in Truro, N.S. on Dec. 8, 2017.
Dubbed SMART Christmas trees, these firs can be shipped farther and more reliably, giving farmers access to wider international markets and higher profits. The trees also have ideal balsam fir characteristics: distinctive fragrance, blue-green colour and full shape.
"They're looking at having yet another advantage over some of the competition," said Angus Bonnyman, executive director of the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia, which supported the research. "The payoff is that there will be more excellent quality trees at the other end."
Nova Scotia's $52-million Christmas tree industry is second to only Quebec's in exports, with fresh cut trees sent as far away as the Caribbean and the United Arab Emirates.
But the industry is threatened by the growing artificial Christmas tree business, to which many customers turn after disappointing experiences with fresh ones. Farmers hope that Dr. Lada's research will help increase demand for their product.
"We believe that it will mean that some of the customers that we've lost or some of the folks that have chosen not to put up a real tree the past few years, will turn back to a real tree with all these advantages," Mr. Bonnyman said.
Dr. Raj Lada assesses the needles on a tree in a research orchard in Truro, N.S. on Dec. 8, 2017.
The discovery, which was funded by the local industry as well as the federal, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments, was celebrated in a recent visit to Truro by Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
"The commercialization of this new Christmas tree research is proof that innovation truly is happening in every industry across Canada," he said in a statement.
Dr. Lada, who is the founding director of the world's only research centre focusing on balsam fir Christmas trees, developed his protocol after screening the local population to see how long they took to shed their needles. He recorded a range from two to 72 days.
He and his research team then identified the best specimens, looking for ideal needle retention, colour and architecture, and developed clones in their laboratory from which they extracted embryos. They developed an embryo multiplication protocol that has been licensed to the local industry, which plans to commercialize the technology.
Dr. Raj Lada checks on saplings protected with wire mesh in a research orchard in Truro, N.S. on Dec. 8, 2017.
However, it will take several years before the SMART trees will be ready to take pride of place on Christmas tree lots near and far. Seedlings are expected to be available for planting in the spring by the local and Atlantic region producers who supported Dr. Lada's research. The first trees are expected to be available for sale, at a premium, in four to eight years, depending on size.
As part of his research, Dr. Lada also developed a product that can be added to water to delay needle drop as well as special containers to store and transport Christmas trees. It will be up to industry to market the technologies.
However, Dr. Lada's funding – which totalled about $6-million over six years – will run out at the end of the month. He plans to seek support for additional research, including on incorporating pest resistance into the SMART tree protocol. (The acronym stands for senescence modulated abscission regulated technologies.)
Until his super balsam firs hit the market, Dr. Lada, who grew up with tropical Christmas trees at his convent school in Southern India, has some low-tech advice for extending the life of garden variety Christmas trees: Plain water (no sugar required) and, curiously, white and red LED lights. "Some spectral wavelengths are much better than other ones."